All posts tagged Ethanol

Nearly a dozen Republicans that may run for president are slated on Saturday to attend the Iowa Ag Summit, billed as a first-of-its-kind forum focused on agricultural issues in a presidential bellwether state.

The Des Moines event will be hosted by Bruce Rastetter, a top ethanol industry executive and major Republican donor. Read More »

The motor club AAA waded into the battle Monday over renewable transportation fuels, asking the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the amount of ethanol that has to be blended into gasoline in 2014.

AAA President Bob Darbelnet said the ethanol requirement, if left unchanged, will push up gas prices and force consumers to use ethanol blends that are potentially dangerous. Read More »

General Motors Co. caught flak Tuesday from Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.) for not replying to his questions about the potential problems of allowing more ethanol in regular gasoline ahead of a House subcommittee hearing Thursday.

On Wednesday, GM issued its response – and made clear it’s not happy with the Obama administration’s effort to promote so-called E15, which is 15% ethanol.

GM , in a letter dated Wednesday, joined other major auto makers in warning that using E15 in pre-2001 cars that weren’t designed for it could cause engine or fuel system damage that wouldn’t be covered by the vehicle’s warranty.

Mr. Sensebrenner, a critic of federal support for ethanol, asked all the major auto makers operating in the U.S. to answer questions about possible problems E15 could cause. On Tuesday, Mr. Sensenbrenner told Washington Wire that he’d received replies from nearly all the major automakers, but he noted that GM, which is still partially owned by the U.S. government, wasn’t among them. “Government Motors has not replied yet,” he said. Read More »

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.) is taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to allow sales of so-called E15 fuels, pointing to fresh warnings from major car makers and many small engine manufacturers that gasoline cut with 15% ethanol could damage engines in many older cars as well as boats and power equipment. The manufacturers warn that customers who put E15 in cars not designed for it will void their warranties. “That should be enough for EPA to withdraw this regulation,” Mr. Sensenbrenner says. He intends to use the manufacturers’ concerns at a hearing Thursday to press for legislation blocking the EPA rule that allows – but doesn’t mandate – sale of E15 at filling stations. Growth Energy, the ethanol industry group that prompted the EPA action on for E15, says Mr. Sensenbrenner and the auto, boat and power equipment industries are overstating the risks…
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The day after Thursday’s lopsided Senate vote in favor of repealing ethanol subsidies, the industry began maneuvering to salvage some of its $6 billion a year in federal support while the White House looked to capitalize on an outcome it opposed.

The White House directed attention toward the bipartisan support for a measure that effectively raises taxes by clamping down on a targeted tax break. The Obama administration is opposed to the immediate end to ethanol’s $6 billion a year in subsidies, favoring “reform” in a way that lowers costs. However, the White House has called repeatedly for ending various tax breaks for oil companies valued at $4 billion annually.

“It is interesting to note that the vote itself is a recognition of the fact that there is spending in our tax code that can be addressed, and I think it’s the kind of spending that exists with the subsidies to oil and gas industries, for example,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday. “I mean, it’s certainly an interesting observation.”

Meanwhile, ethanol industry lobbyists said they’ll keep fighting efforts led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), to end all federal support for ethanol. But they said maintaining the status quo looks unlikely, given the Senate’s 73-to-27 vote Thursday in favor of the Feinstein-Coburn measure. That proposal remains a long way from becoming law – which works in the industry’s favor.

“All of this is just agitation. It’s not legislation,” Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, which represents the ethanol industry, said of the vote. Read More »

DES MOINES — It was an odd setting for a policy pronouncement, but on the sidewalk outside the Historical Building here, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney embraced ethanol subsidies. It came just days after and blocks from where his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Tim Pawlenty, said the subsidies should be phased out.

“I support the subsidy of ethanol,” he told an Iowa voter. “I believe ethanol is an important part of our energy solution for this country.” Iowa leads the nation in the production of corn, a main source of ethanol.

Mr. Romney and a crowd that had come to see his first Iowa speech of the year had been evacuated from the Historical Building by a fire alarm. Amid the tumult, a woman asked if he was going to take any questions. He said given the circumstances, the question and answer part of the program appeared out of the question. So she presented him a typed out note demanding his position on ethanol, one she had intended to present at the presidential forum that had just abruptly ended.

His answer, delivered without hesitation, adhered to the orthodox position of politicians vying for Iowa votes. But it came just days after former Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty officially announced his candidacy and said the nation could no longer afford to subsidize ethanol, a position that he said backed up his claim to be the truth teller in the race.

That leaves the Republican primary contest with a peculiar situation: Mr. Pawlenty, a candidate who needs a strong showing, and possibly an outright victory, in Iowa is bucking a popular position. Mr. Romney, who may not contest Iowa as he focuses on other early states, has embraced most Iowans’ position. Read More »

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.